Customer Reviews

ISBN-13:

9781609256173

Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date: 10/15/2011
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 256
File size: 4 MB

Jacki Smith has been a crafter of magical products since 1992 and an initiated Witch since 1988. The current trend in magical candles can be traced in part to the ground-breaking products that she developed over 15 years ago through her company, Coventry Creations, which makes magically charged candles that are sold around the world. Jacki’s Blessed Herbal Candles are a staple throughout many spiritual communities and are quickly becoming commonplace in mainstream America. She is also the author of Coventry Magic. Visit her online at coventrycreations.com.

Read an Excerpt

COVENTRY MAGIC with Candles, Oils, and Herbs

By JACKI SMITH

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

Copyright © 2011 Jacki Smith
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-60925-617-3

CHAPTER 1

Isn't Magic Actually Just Positive Thinking?

Juliet, one of my five sisters, asked me this question when I was explaining to her what my classes were all about. "From what you are saying, magic sounds like when you put your mind to it, you can make it happen," she said. I can't disagree with that statement, but it's just the tip of the iceberg. Positive thinking is where it starts, for sure. This is where you start to overcome the thoughts, attitude, and actions that keep you in a place of need. Positive thinking, prayer, psychoanalysis, therapy, affirmations, yoga, and energy work are all powerful beginnings to the process of magic, but they're only the beginning. Typically, this point is where a lot of people chicken out. They don't want to actually change their behavior; they want to just flow with it, let the universe take the reins and bring them to their perfect place of nirvana. (Hmmm, isn't the definition of insanity when you repeat the same behavior yet expect a different result?) If you put out positive thoughts about love, yet you stay home, how are you going to meet someone?

When you decide to use Glinda's magic wand or light a candle to bring about change in your life, you are required to reach outside of your comfort level. You have spent your entire life to get right here, right now in this moment, and you may have grown very fond of and comfortable with this current reality. Realistically, there are things you are perfectly happy with and that do not need any tweaking. Yet on the flip side, there are parts of your life that you are uncomfortable with. It is the flip side where magic comes into play. There are attitudes that, like your prom dress, just don't fit anymore.

When you bring the element of empowerment and magic into your life, those ideals that no longer fit are off like that prom dress, putting your beliefs in a naked and vulnerable position. This is where you must take your own power and create change—or try to squeeze back into that old dress that had become your uncomfortable comfort zone. If you don't like where you are, then bust those seams and reach outside of your comfort level and make some magic happen!

Magic Demands Change—Off Like a Prom Dress!

Magic demands change; magic demands evolution! If you are reaching for something different, you have to be different to attain it. You have to change, evolve, and grow. You cannot stay static or stagnant, and you have to change. You have to take off the prom dress and step into your college duds. In case you didn't hear me the first time, let me say this once more with volume: Magic demands change. Think about it: If you don't need to move from the spot you are in right now, you wouldn't need spell work, because you already have what you thought you were looking for. Huh? If you got it, you don't need it. If you need it, you are doing things that stop you from having it. Listen, if you want to lose weight, move more and eat less. If you want to eat less, you have to find out why you eat too much and change it!

Coventry magic has always been about the solution, not just the quick fix. Every time I speak with someone who tells me their magic didn't work, I discover that the magic did, just not in the way the practitioner anticipated or even wanted. When you cast a spell, you are asking the universe to expand your knowledge. Your spirit responds by expanding to meet this new vibration. You cannot be stagnant and expect success.

As a human being, you have worked awfully hard to make sure you have everything you need to stay in your current condition and cope with the stress and turmoil around you. You have made the choices that have brought you here. You have instilled fears within yourself that stop you from reaching for any new idea that may work (or not work). You have put up walls to make sure your emotions and ego are never at risk. You have framed your mind to stay comfortable with the least amount of personal responsibility for your life. You have meticulously collected every reason why you cannot move beyond your current status and have held on to those reasons for dear life. (Gee, was that a little harsh?) Everyone has done this to themselves to one extent or another.

The good news is, once you open the door to magic, you can change your entire reality if you work hard enough and smart enough. The bad news is, once you open the door to magic, it demands that you evolve and grow. Your old beliefs and limitations will no longer fit your expanding spirit. With each and every spell you cast, you are asking for a transformation of your life. What you do with the success of your magic determines whether this is a temporary change or a permanent one. It's entirely up to you.

Magic demands personal responsibility, focus, commitment, and an open mind. When you blame the events of your life on others, you have forfeited the magic needed to transform what is lacking into what is abundant. When you say that your parents screwed you up as a kid and that's why you can't (insert issue here), you just handed the power to make a change off to whom you thought screwed you up in the first place. Magic demands that you own who you are, your actions, and your beliefs.

By the way, magic does not come in the way you expect. You must be open to magic manifesting in unexpected ways, you must be open to seeing it, and you must make room for it. Magic challenges you to look for its manifestation, because it resides just outside of your comfort zone, in a place of spiritual evolution. No matter what blockade we create for ourselves or what blinders we put on, our spirits chose these lil' old bodies and lil' old lives to experience the next step in our personal spiritual mastery. The number and width of steps you take toward that mastery are entirely in your control.

You can ask for a million dollars, then totally ignore the small "Pet Rock" million-dollar opportunities that crossed your path. How about diving into why this is a problem? Do you manage your money poorly? Do you need more education to get a better job? Do you need advisors to help grow your business? Do you have people in your life that are sponging off your energy and money? That is all part of magic—being able to see when magic brings you to a place where you can grow from the experience rather than constantly putting a band-aid on the problem.

You can cast your magical net out for a Fabio look-alike but ignore that average-looking romantic man who will treat you like the princess you are (and you know that guy will grow more handsome to you with every loving thing he does for you). Maybe you need to do some soul searching to find out what you are really looking for and what is best for you. Are you feeling needy and helpless, sending out the call for a savior? That call will only get you someone who wants to use and control you. Are you looking for someone to save? Are you even looking, or are you waiting for Mr. or Ms. Right to pop up from the toaster?

Then there are the ever-present protection issues ... Are you always thinking that someone is attacking you or out to get you? Are your boss and coworkers constantly hassling you? This may be a time to work on your personal power and self-esteem. That magic will be longer lasting and will make a greater change than just a banishing spell every new moon.

When you cast your spell, you must meet it halfway and don't judge what outfit it wears.

Is Magic the First Resort, the Last Resort, or Just the Scenic Route?

If you take care of yourself in the here and now, most magic will be unnecessary. That's a nice and spiritually correct thing to say, but let's face it, taking care of ourselves is usually the last thing on our lists! There are too many more interesting things to do and too many lipstick colors to try out. Magic is a handy skill to possess to clean up those inevitable messes that you create when you forget to take care of your own needs first. Even though it is tempting to go straight for your box of candles when you face the drama of the day (you know, that mess you made with all the lipstick) you are well advised to start with a bit of self-analysis. Before you cast a spell, take responsibility for your actions that contributed to the mess at hand and see if this issue is easily resolved by owning up to your shortcomings.

If he left you, own up to your part in the drama and maybe you can reconcile. If you didn't get the job, make sure your resume looks good with no typos and that you used all your contacts for leads. If you are sick, maybe working sixty hours and then rocking out the weekend was not the best use of your energy. If you don't deal with the physical reality of the situation, you are just going to repeat this same old scenario over and over again.

When you brave a peek at your own underlying issue, you can see new ways to get to the desired result. If you cannot get to your destination by driving straight through, you may be able to get there by an alternate route. If you want to ask her out, maybe instead of a love spell, you need a courage spell. For that new job, maybe instead of a money spell, you need an attraction spell to make the right contacts.

This book starts with the element of you and helps you map out your magical route to transformation. In these pages, we dive into magic and its relation to the self, giving you new tools to create the reality you most desire. Before you get started (or maybe after you have skimmed a few pages to make sure I am not a total crackpot), declare what it is you want out of this book. Instead of constantly asking what candle to burn, what stone to carry, and what spell to cast, you can look at a situation and understand how to change the energy in your life to finish this lesson for good! This is a spiritual journey into your own magical self—and taking this journey changes magic from something you do into something you are!

Magic works—it works every time—guaranteed. Every time, it works diligently and beautifully right up until it hits the blocks you placed in its way. That, my friends, is how you find those ever-elusive blocks. It is time to open your eyes, see how magic is happening in your life, and step right into your destiny.

CHAPTER 2

OMG—Am I Doing the Right Thing?!

Or, Getting into the Flow of Your Destiny

What is destiny anyway? If you think too hard, the concept of destiny totally conflicts with the concept of free will. Really, who gave you this destiny, and what if you don't want it? So what's it gonna be—destiny or will? With any good conflict, once you unravel how the opposing sides actually work together, you have the key to an excellent adventure! What good story isn't filled with the main character's internal conflict of willfully fighting against his destined path (or true love) to succumb in the end to the wiser path of his destiny? (Reference: High School English Lit 101.)

If your path of destiny is such a big deal, how the heck do you get there and start walking it? Ironically, that conflicting free will tends to get you to your path of destiny. See, there is this little thing you carry with you from birth, called your spirit and soul. This untouchable, etheric part of you comes into the story of this lifetime with a plan or a destiny. Through the unfolding of your life story, you create experiences and beliefs that layer upon this destiny, slowly hiding it from your conscious view.

Here comes that internal struggle that feeds your inner novelist: Your spirit will always take you in the direction of your destiny; the issues, beliefs, and experiences that conflict with that destiny will try to block you at every step. This is not some great conspiracy of the evil one to turn you to the dark side; this is just life. This is the collection and processing of all the information and experiences around you. This is the immaturity and innocence of your inner child processing what makes you mad or scared or happy. This is your willful ego wanting instant gratification. (Really, we are all just a bunch of twelve-year-olds inside, resisting growing up.)

There are some legitimately horrible things that happen to children that can scar them for a lifetime. There are horrible things that happen to adults that leave scars for the rest of their lifetimes. There is no denying that. What is there is the acknowledgment of the trauma and then the recovery that happens after that. What is there is the free will that drives you to be happy and loved and healthy and finding your purpose. What is there is the uncovering of your destiny. Here is where you start to decide what drives your life: (a) the crap that got shoveled in by others, or (b) your divine destiny? It's not an easy journey, but it is always worth it.

These issues or blocks to your destiny don't start off that big, because most of it is buried. When you start digging down, you get the wider scope of how they are interfering with your life. As you grow and evolve, you can deal with more and more of them, but then after a while, like your first-grade desk, they just don't seem that big. It is when you are truly on your path of destiny that the really big issues come up. When the big uglies make their appearance, you know you are onto something and that the reward will be bigger than the trouble it takes to get there. Remember, the bigger the ugly, nasty issue, the bigger the reward at the end. You are in constant evolution, and the growing pains can get a little fierce!

When "OMG, am I doing the right thing?" becomes your battle cry, you are stepping onto your path of destiny. Cry, scream, have that spiritual temper tantrum, but use it as fuel to get to the other side. You are finally learning the lesson when your free will is getting hit the hardest! You are growing and learning and understanding more than ever before, and when you get on the other side of it, you will be stronger and more amazing than you have ever been. When it gets ugly out there, celebrate that you are figuring it out and that you never have to do this crap again. Even the tiniest bit of welcome to this uncomfortable growth puts the control back in your hands. When you say, "Yup, this sucks," you are guaranteed to make it out alive and stronger. From this point, with your destiny under your feet, your inner control over this grows and allows you to deal with this and the rest of your life on your own terms with your free will intact.

Now what has all this got to do with lighting a candle and casting a spell? Everything, because if you try to cast a spell that is off of your path of destiny, the results are just going to confuse you. Magic always works, but if your actions are not in alignment with your spirit and your destiny, it can make things worse. Before you step into the world of magic as your solution, make sure you are standing in your destiny and in agreement with your spirit before you go there.

I watch so many people who think they are on their path of destiny yet work very hard to force their will onto others, trying to override another's journey. This just makes life really messy, confusing, and gives you a feeling of desperation. Once you start trying to control the actions and emotions of others, you are stepping off of your path of destiny and will regret that decision later. Having personal boundaries and being in control of your own life is different from trying to control others. For instance, when you work your magic to get that man away from her and into your arms, you are probably stepping off of your own path and working to make someone else's path yours, a.k.a. trying to control others. When you work a spell that enhances your own desirability, that is an example of being in control of your own life and staying on your path of destiny. When you cast a spell, force, or shame your employees to sell more or work longer hours, that is being a bit controlling (ya think?) and off of your own path of destiny. When you light a candle to bring an employee to you that will sell like crazy and has a great work ethic, that is setting your boundaries and keeping in touch with how you can stay on your path.
(Continues...)

Excerpted from COVENTRY MAGIC with Candles, Oils, and Herbs by JACKI SMITH. Copyright © 2011 Jacki Smith. Excerpted by permission of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Coventry Magic with Candles, Oils, and Herbs

eBook

Customer Reviews

Read an Excerpt

COVENTRY MAGIC with Candles, Oils, and Herbs

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

Table of Contents

Contents

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Coventry Magic with Candles, Oils, and Herbs

eBook

Customer Reviews

Read an Excerpt

COVENTRY MAGIC with Candles, Oils, and Herbs

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

Table of Contents

Contents

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Recently Viewed

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